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Tag Archives: kitchen tips and tricks

First of all, could it be any more miserable outside today? Since I’m housebound and I had not oiled my wooden spoons and cutting boards in a while, I figured I would do that today as it does not take much time.

Yes, cutting boards and wooden spoons should be oiled.

I can’t take credit for this kitchen tip or kitchen trick, my husband was the one who pointed out the obvious here a few years ago. I noticed in a cupboard he had a bottle of food grade cutting board and wood block oil. I asked what it was for, and he told me. I had never known to do that as much as I cook.

This is totally simple advice and if you take the time to buy the food grade oil, which is mineral oil based, you will extend the life of your cutting boards and your wooden spoons and your butcher block if you have one. Oiling the cutting boards means they don’t warp and don’t dry out. Oh and you won’t get splinters!

I use the Howard brand of cutting board and butcher block oil. I also love their furniture wax and oil.

It is totally simple to oil the cutting boards and wooden spoons. I use paper towels. I put the oil on the paper towel and I gently rub in the direction of the grain.

I should back up. There is a step for the spoons in the cutting boards before I oil them. I read about it somewhere and quite simply it’s you make a paste out of salt and lemon juice to help extra clean your boards and spoons. Or you can just wash them with soap and water and let them dry – I never let them soak in water because they will warp and split. And that goes for both wooden spoons and cutting boards.

I always keep my cutting boards very clean, and I also read that some people use peroxide after they have had raw meat on a cutting board.

Whatever you clean your cutting boards with before you oil them, they must be perfectly dry before you oil them.

When you apply the oil you need to do so evenly. And you need to give it a few hours I think to soak in. If after a few hours anything seems sticky or greasy, buff it up a little bit with clean paper towel to soak up any excess oil. (Again, this cutting board and butcher block oil is food grade and mineral oil based.)

Anyway, it’s such a simple and easy thing to do, and it helps extend the life of your wooden kitchen things. If you use wooden salad bowls and salad servers, you also might want to oil them once in a while as well.

I also oil my kitchen cabinets. They are vintage at this point and original to the house so they need occasional love too. I try to oil my cabinets once a month, and as for the other oiling of cutting boards and wooden spoons it usually ends up being twice a year.